In Pictures: Jerome, Arizona

During our Fabric of America tour, we stayed off the interstate for about 99% of the time, which allowed us to visit all sorts of places that most people miss. Besides not being bored to death by endless four-lane highways, we also got to see the ‘real’ America that’s a bit less touched by all the things that sprout up along the aforementioned interstates.

One of the cool towns we visited along the way was Jerome, Arizona. It’s certainly touched by tourism, but seems more than able to keep its character and history.

Jerome is quite unlike the now-overrun town of Sedona, a 30-mile drive in one direction, and the modern-day boomtown of Prescott Valley, a 35-mile jaunt in the other direction. Jerome’s off-the-beaten-path vibe – it’s basically on a mountain – is more than ample enough to keep the community small and the history charming.

Jerome is an old mining town, full of historic buildings, intense lore, and a mix of locals and transplants. It also has plenty of run-down buildings that have yet to be restored (and hopefully not torn down). It’s only got about 450 people, but easily felt like a place we could call home if we wanted to settle down.

We spent a very hot summer day here, which meant we couldn’t go into too many places since it wouldn’t have been a wise move to leave Louis in the car. Alas, we did spend quite a while walking around. And by ‘walking around,’ I mean going up and down hills, and zig-zagging back and forth along the level streets. Like I said, it’s basically on a mountain. Bring your thigh and calf muscles.

2 Comments

We have been to Jerome! It has a very interesting history and seems improbable as a town that could survive losing its biggest industry. But the locals have made the most of its unusual location and attraction. There are fabulous restaurants and fascinating shops. We thoroughly enjoyed our brief visit there.

Yeah, despite a lot of rundown-looking buildings in our photos (we like the Life After People thing), most of the town is kept quite charming and we liked it a lot. Because of the heat + the dog, we were unfortunately unable to go into any restaurants or shops. Maybe next time!